For former Harrisburg City Council attorney Mark Schwartz, it boils down to this: One law firm got paid, the other didn’t.

Schwartz wants to know why a group of West Shore attorneys representing Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson in the city’s debt crisis were paid when council hasn’t paid him a penny for his legal services.

Attorney Mark D. Schwartz. DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News

The Bryn Mawr attorney claims council owes him just over $200,000 for filing its failed bankruptcy petition late last year and guiding it through other debt-related legal matters.

Meanwhile, Tucker Arensberg, the firm that represented Thompson as she fought council’s bankruptcy pitch and still is in her corner, has been paid $143,839 since Nov. 10 of last year, according to Harrisburg financial records.

Council hired Schwartz in October of 2011 to file a bankruptcy petition and circumvent the looming state takeover of the city’s financial recovery process.

Thompson fought the bankruptcy, which was rejected in federal court, as were subsequent appeals of the petition. Schwartz also represented council during several state receivership hearings.

There are discrepancies over how much Schwartz is owed and Harrisburg Receiver William Lynch controls which city vendors get paid, council President Wanda Williams said of why the attorney hasn’t received payment.

Lynch’s spokesman, Cory Angell, said the city processes its own bills, but Lynch would have to sign off on a $200,000 expenditure.

Thompson’s spokesman Robert Philbin contends that Schwartz’s hire in October of 2011 wasn’t legal, and that’s why he hasn’t been paid.

Council voted to hire Schwartz, “but a formal contract was never secured,” Philbin said. “The terms of the hire have to be reviewed and the scope of service has to be approved by the (city) solicitor. That never happened, so that’s where it is.”

Schwartz, who was hired about two months prior to the state takeover of Harrisburg, said he has hired an attorney to help him get paid, but he prefers to work out an agreement outside of court.

“The solicitor had a conflict of interest and was acting on the mayor’s behalf in trying to impede things. The individuals have a right as elected officials to pick their own counsel in accordance with their responsibilities,” Schwartz said.

“I would rather have this thing solved amicably. I am happy to negotiate a settlement, but zero is not an option,” he added.

Hess could not be reached for comment.

Angell didn’t immediately know why Schwartz hasn’t been paid, but said “Council passed something in December to expend $20,000 for this. I know the previous receiver had some concerns and communicated those to all of City Council and the mayor.”

The city paid Tucker Arensberg from the legal services fund included in Harrisburg’s 2012 budget, Philbin said.

The firm represented Thompson in three major conflicts, according to Ken Lee, the primary Tucker Arensberg attorney doing battle for the mayor.

Tucker represented her during the bankruptcy fight, the state takeover and in litigation Thompson filed against Harrisburg Controller Dan Miller to reinstate direct deposit payments to city employees.

Lee said he doesn’t believe Schwartz should be paid.

“He didn’t clear the conflicts associated with the bankruptcy, he didn’t have an approved contract and he didn’t do what was appropriate for a legitimate bankruptcy,” Lee said. “The city’s (vendors) went to (requiring cash on delivery) because of the bankruptcy.”

“He provided no quality service,” Lee added. “And I am prepared to prove that in any manner in which (Schwartz) sees fit.”

Harrisburg is mired in $340 million of debt generated by a failed retrofit of its incinerator.

The city also faces an almost $15 million year-end budget deficit that threatens city services. By helping block council’s bankruptcy petition, Lee is the one that hurt the city, Schwartz said.

“I don’t see (Lee) bringing any lawsuit against his fellow members of the Harrisburg bar that brought those bogus (incinerator) bond issues that brought this on the city,” he said. “I only regret that those who did the bogus incinerator bond issues weren’t paying my fees. But there appears to be no appetite for any public officials to go after them.”

Since November 10, 2011, Harrisburg made the following payments to Lemoyne law firm Tucker Arensberg, which represented Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson in her fight against City Council’s bankruptcy petition and in other city financial matters:

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.